1964 Chevrolet Chevelle - Round-Track Rebellion

Though musclecars ruled the streets then, the '60s are not remembered as an era of Chevrolet dominance on NASCAR's old Grand National circuit. After all, Ford and Chrysler were openly funding their efforts with special engines and cars, while GM's dominance in the early part of the decade ended when skittish corporate bigwigs pulled the plug on all racing activity in early 1963. As a result, by the time the Chevelle made its appearance in 1964, only a handful of independent racers were using the model for circle-track action.

Tracy Hicks, who lives in Jonesborough, Tennessee, not far from the fabled Bristol Motor Speedway, is a longtime Chevy fan who makes his living as a street-rod and automotive metal fabricator. His Wizeguy Rod & Custom shop is filled with everything from prewar Cadillacs to classic shoebox Chevy designs, but he had a special place in his heart for this early classic when the chance to buy it came up about five years ago.

"I was looking for my next project when I heard that a local fellow was going to sell this car," Tracy says. "He had just had it painted but didn't really like it. Since I really didn't want a standard '67-'69 Camaro or '66-'72 Chevelle, I knew immediately this car was what I wanted, so we made a deal."

Indeed, with the ghosts of Smokey Yunick and Curtis Turner on his shoulder,Tracy decided to forgo the dragstrip, street machine, or even the resto look. The idea was to make the car look like a street-driven Grand National car, with modest trim, black-wall tires on steel rims, and a nasty rumble under the hood.

One of the first things that catches your eye is the functional all-steel cowl hood, which Tracy fabricated from sheet stock and welded together himself. Just like the prior owner, he was not happy with the paint, and he had paint-gun artist Richard Fine, also of Jonesborough, spray the car after it had been stripped, reblocked, and sanded. Once the new hood was done, Keith Kyker at KBS Auto Restoration took up the charge and expertly matched the Goldenwood Yellow PPG work that Richard had done. Richard was involved in many other aspects of the project as well.

The rest of the body is basically stock, with some unique items like the taillight block-off plates. They would not be there had Tracy not been talking with Mike Ausley of Ausley's Chevelle Parts in Graham, North Carolina, one day while chasing some of the N.O.S. trim pieces on the car. "I told him I was building this car and how I wanted it to look," Tracy recalls. "Then he asked me if I had a set of back-up-light delete plates." Mike had an N.O.S. pair that had been sitting around for more than 20 years, and he thought they would be perfect for the car. "They were perfect, too," Tracy says.

Now, NASCAR has never been known to be a low-horsepower sport, and Tracy decided if the old, legal 427s were good enough, a bigger lung would be even better. To that end, he selected a Merlin III tall-deck block and a stroker crankshaft and sent it all to Bobby Myers at Performance Automotive in Greeneville, Tennessee, for machining, but Tracy did the assembly at his own shop.

We would be remiss not to point out that the paint and detailing under the hood is outstanding for the heritage look a car like this needs. The ACDelco valve-cover breather, lack of chrome goodies, and use of the glass windshield-washer bottle (ok, ok, maybe NASCAR would have taken THAT out for safety) give the impression it is all business. The MSD pieces were discreetly tucked under the front fenders, leaving just that big orange mill as the focus of the engine bay.

The interior is spartan, with twin buckets and the rear seat covered in vinyl from Year One, the stock dash layout augmented only by some vintage-appearing gauges, and the use of a simple Hurst stick. The only upgrade is carpet on the floor, custom-made by Speedway Seat Covers in Jonesborough, to fit the modified Jerico tunnel. The interior has a few N.O.S. pieces that make it look as good as it did back in the day, and the trunk has been restored as well. To make the wheels look right, the showboat chromies were left in the corner, and Wheel Vintiques was called on for 15-inch rollers with custom backspacing.

This is a street machine, and Tracy admits that until a 'cage and bigger tires are on the car, he has yet to find out what will happen at the top of any gear. The big engine just wants to swing the back end of the car around from a launch, even with the 255/70R15 rubber out back. Highway triple digits are no problem, though.

The car has impressed others: It took Best '64-'65 Chevelle plus Best Engine honors at the '05 Southeast Autorama, beating everything from street rods to restored Packards. Tracy will let us know when he is really ready to let it all hang out, and everyone will be smiling when that happens.

Tech NotesWhat: A '64 Chevrolet Chevelle that woulda/shoulda raced in NASCAR back in the day

Who: Tracy Hicks

Home Town: Jonesborough, Tennessee

Body Mods: This all-steel beast was treated to a trick one-off cowl hoodscoop that Tracy cut, hammered, and formed out of sheet stock and then welded together. It also has lots of N.O.S. trim pieces, including a set of rare back-up light block-offs. Other than that hood, the rest of it is all circa 1964.

Exhaust: Rather than waking up the neighbors, the standard NASCAR setup was replaced by Hooker headers and a Flowmaster exhaust system. It's a deep rumbler.

Goodies: This one is all throttle and maintains its "legal" vintage flair through the use of some cool decals and peripheral parts that help hide the fact that it's packing big inches.

Heads: They are a set of LS6 lightweights filled with Crane valve gear, as well as a secret Bullet Racing Cams stick that would make a bootlegger proud. An ominously large Brodix intake spans the gap over the lifter galley.

Ignition: Sparks fly courtesy of an MSD 6AL tucked up under the passenger-side fender.

Paint: The Goldenwood Yellow PPG was sprayed by Richard Fine after Tracy did the body prep. Keith Kyker excellently matched the work when he painted the hood after the metalwork was finished.

Rearend: It's the ol' standby Chevy 12-inch with a 3.55 Richmond gear outfit for street romping and a set of Strange axles for safety.

Suspension: Keeping it on the straight and narrow are Lakewood shocks painted black, Stainless Steel Brakes discs, and boxed control arms. Tracy, who used to build IHRA-legal Pro Mod cars, will do some tweaking once time allows the car to do more than go for Saturday night ice cream.

Transmission: A connection at the Morgan McLure NASCAR operation made possible a NASCAR-ready Jerico four-speed to do the gear work. A Centerforce clutch and Hayes flywheel round it out.

Wheels/Tires: In keeping with the all-business NASCAR theme, the car sports black Wheel Vintiques 15x6-inch versions with 215/70R15 BFGoodrich rubber up front and 15x8 with 5-inch backspacing and BFGoodrich 255/70R15 out back.